Mobile robotic platforms are widely used in several fields. There are robotic devices used for security for example, robotic platforms equipped with means used for fighting terrorism, e.g. collecting real time information in hostage situations or gathering information behind enemy lines. Robotic platforms are also used for civilian purposes, for example inspecting for leaks of hazardous substances at industrial or regional facilities where nuclear, biological or chemical materials are manufactured. There are also robotic platforms used for domestic purposes such as cleaning floors or mowing a lawn. Non-mobile robots are also common, for instance robots designed for use in industrial facilities and in factories to carry out manufacturing procedures.
Robots of all types are generally designed and equipped with specific means suitable to enable them to carry out specific tasks. For example, robotic platforms designed for observation will comprise different types of imaging and listening devices; and robotic platforms designed to be mobile and remotely navigated will generally comprise imaging sensors, navigation aids such as a GPS system or internal compass, and communication means to exchange information and instructions with a remote control station. Some robots are preprogrammed to carry out tasks autonomously and others are operated manually or semi-automatically, either locally or remotely, by means of interfaces and control devices such as a joystick or a computer mouse.
Some typical publications that demonstrate the state of the art are: U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,977 describes a remotely operated steerable vehicle especially usable as a teleooperated mobile robot system. The vehicle carries a video camera which shows the field of view directly ahead. A remote control station has a video monitor showing said field of view with left and right upwardly converging guidelines on the monitor screen representing the left and right edges of the area traversed by the vehicle if it moves straight into the field of view. The guidelines on the screen provide an excellent and inexpensive aid to the operator who steers the vehicle from a remote location. However, everything outside the guidelines will be missed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,826 describes a mobile robot remotely controlled and/or powered through a cable from a stationary console. The robot carries a cable management arrangement which stores the cable and dispenses and retracts it as needed. The arrangement lays down the cable under zero tension when the robot is outbound and reels it in as the robot returns to allow the robot to follow a path without entangling the cable. However if the robot goes for example around a tree it will have to return by the same path for the cable not to be entangled. The robot can have numerous configurations such as a simple configuration for use as a transporter for mail in an office and parts in a factory, to a complex configuration with robotic arms and sensors for use in remote surveillance and security work.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,955 describes a cleaning robot comprising a platform and drive system to move the robot on a substantially horizontal surface. The robot also includes at least one sensor attached to the platform, which is capable of detecting a change on the horizontal surface. The robot further has a computer processing unit for storing, receiving and transmitting data, and a cleaning implement operatively associated with the robot.
Most prior art devices, such as those described above, are able to perform with varying degrees of success only the specific tasks for which they were designed. Attempts have been made to provide systems having the capability of performing more than one function; however such systems generally require compromises that do not always allow the robot to perform each of the functions in an efficient manner.
Israeli patent application number IL183006 by the present applicant, the description of which, including publications referenced therein, is incorporated herein by reference, describes a robotic mobile platform that can be thrown into hostile or hazardous environments and then can travel around an area of interest gathering information and transmitting that information to a remotely located control station. The system of the invention is adapted to provide it's operator with significant information without being exposed directly to actual or potential danger. The system has many advanced sensors and navigational capabilities that are built into the robotic platform that allow relatively simple control over the vehicle and a large amount of information of various types related to its mission to be gathered, analyzed, and displayed at the remote control station.
Because of the specialized nature of the robotic systems described above, it is difficult if not impossible to provide them with different types of sensors and other components that will allow them to be used to carry out tasks different from those for which they were originally designed, or to carry out those tasks better and more efficiently. What is missing in the prior art is a method of easily retrofitting any existing robotic system in order to allow it to carry out advanced observation and surveillance tasks and to be equipped with advanced navigational abilities such as those described in the above referenced IL183006.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sensor module that can be retrofitted to even the simplest robotic platforms, thereby extending its observation, surveillance, and navigational capabilities.
It is another object of the present invention to provide means for remotely controlling robotic platforms provided with the sensor module.
It is another object of the present invention to provide means for enabling two or more robotic platforms to be operated as a team controlled by one remote control interface.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.